Congregation Shearith
Israel, The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in the City of New York, was
founded in 1654 CE, the first Jewish congregation to be established in North
America. Its founders were twenty-three Jews, mostly of Spanish and Portuguese
origin, who had been living in Recife, Brazil. When the Portuguese defeated
the Dutch for control of Recife, and brought with them the Inquisition,
the Jews of that area left. Some returned to Amsterdam, where they had
originated. Others went to places in the Caribbean such as St. Thomas,
Jamaica, Surinam and Curacao, where they founded sister Sephardic congregations.
One group of twenty-three Jews, after a series of unexpected events, landed
in New Amsterdam. They were not welcomed by Governor Peter Stuyvesant,
who did not wish to permit the Jews to settle here. However, these pioneers
fought for their rights and won permission to remain. During colonial days,
the Jewish community was relatively small.

Until they year 1730,
the Congregation met in rented quarters. In 1730, Shearith Israel consecrated
its first synagogue building on Mill Street, now known as South William
Street. Many of the furnishings of that building are preserved in The Little
Synagogue.

Shearith Israel was
the only Jewish Congregation in New York City from 1654 until 1825. During
that entire span of history, all of the Jews of New York belonged to this
Congregation, which provided for all the needs of the Jewish community,
from birth to death. It offered education in both religious and general
subjects, provided kosher meat and Passover provisions, and performed a
wide variety of charitable and other functions for the Jewish people.

Many of the congregates
served the cause of the American Revolution, and each year a special Memorial
Day service is held at The historic Chatham Square cemetery, in which we
pay tribute to those who served in the Revolutionary Army. Reverend Gershom
Mendes Seixas, who was the religious leader of Shearith Israel for a period
spanning fifty years (including the Revolutionary War Period), was a great
patriot. He was involved in many communal activities and was among the
founders of Columbia University, then Kings College. Members of Shearith
Israel played an important role in civic life from the earliest times.
Three of The members, Benjamin Mendes Seixas, Ephraim Hart and Alexander
Zuntz, were among the founders of the New York Stock Exchange.

Shearith Israel, or
members of the Congregation, have been involved in founding many institutions
in New York City, such as Mt. Sinai Hospital, Montefiore Hospital, the Lexington
School for the Deaf, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America,
the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Sephardic Studies Program of Yeshiva
University, the Union of Sephardic Congregations and so many more. Among
The members have been Emma Lazarus, the famous poet; Judge Benjamin Nathan
Cardozo, United States Supreme Court Justice; Professor Cecil Roth, eminent
Jewish historian and Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy, first Jewish flag officer
in the United States Navy. Many of the congregates have distinguished themselves
in all areas of civic and communal life.

Even from its earliest
days, Shearith Israel had Sephardic and Ashkenazic members. Although the
synagogue service follows the custom of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, the
membership is diverse, and at present is composed of Sephardim and Ashkenazim
who work together in harmony for the well-being of the Congregation and
community.

The present synagogue
building, on 70th Street and Central Park West, is the fifth
which The Congregation has occupied. The first synagogue on Mill Street,
built in 1730, was replaced by a larger structure on the same site in 1818.
In 1834, the Congregation moved to a new building on Crosby Street, and
in 1860, Shearith Israel built its fTheth home, on West 19th
Street, near Fifth Avenue. As New York City continued to grow and the population
moved northward, Shearith Israel built this building on 70th
Street and Central Park West, designed by the noted architect, Arnold Brunner.

The present synagogue
is constructed in the style of Spanish and Portuguese congregations. The
readers desk is towards the rear-center of the room. According to
tradition, the floor boards of the readers desk date back to the readers
desk in The Mill Street synagogue of 1730, highlighting the continuity of
the generations in Shearith Israel. The clergy of the Congregation sit
on the semi-circular bench behind the readers desk. The President
and Vice-president sit on the benches against the east wall. Sermons are
delivered from the pulpit. There is a choir loft above the Ark and a professional
all-male choir participates in Sabbath and holiday services.

The steps leading to
the Ark are of Numidian marble. The wall surrounding the Ark is made of
Sienna marble. The Louis Tiffany studios crafted the stained glass windows.
Four lamps on the eastern walls were dedicated to the memory of men who
died during the First World War. At the entrance to the synagogue, there
are two millstones that were from Mill Street, the location of the town
miller during the early colonial period. They were taken from the site
of The first Mill Street synagogue as a reminder of The historic roots in
the city.

The religious services
are conducted according to the Spanish and Portuguese minhag (custom).
Much of the service is read aloud and sung by the congregation together
with the Hazzan.

Each holiday has its
own unique melody associated with it and there are also visual reminders
for different occasions. For example, on a regular Sabbath, the Torah scrolls
are covered with a red brocade material. On festival days and special Shabbatot,
the cloaks are of different colors. On the High Holy Days, these cloaks,
as well as the lining of the Ark and the covering of the readers desk
and pulpit, are all white. The Ark contains the Torah scrolls, each decorated
by a set of bells. One set was presented to the Congregation on the occasion
of the dedication of the Mill Street synagogue of 1730, and is used each
year on the anniversary of that consecration. There are two pairs of bells
which were crafted by the noted silversmith of the Revolutionary period,
Myer Myers, who also served as President of the Congregation.

In the present building,
is a replica of The Mill Street synagoguethe Little Synagogue. It
is used daily for morning and evening services, small weddings, baby namings
and Berith Milahs. Items from the Mill Street synagogue include the readers
desk in the center of the room, the railing and the four candlesticks surrounding
it, the Ner Tamid (the perpetual light), the Ten Commandments tablet over
the Ark, the benches along the south wall, and the Sabbath lamp hanging
in front of the west window. The benches along the western and northern
walls as well as the two benches on either side of the Ark are from the
Crosby Street synagogue of 1834. One of the memorial lamps hanging on the
northern wall served as the Ner Tamid in the 19th Street synagogue.

The congregation today
is quite active with many Congregational Societies, including the Sisterhood,
Mens Club, League and the Youth Service Council. In addition there
is the Hebra Hased Va-Amet, founded in 1802, and the Hebrew Relief Society,
founded in 1828; the oldest burial and charitable societies in the United
States. Shearith Israel sponsors adult education classes, public programs,
and has continued to serve the spiritual, intellectual and communal needs
of The community. The history of well over three centuries provides stability,
strength, and confidence.

Louis
N. Levy,
Founder of the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies
and Culture was the co-founder of Sephardic House at Congregation
Shearith Israel.